There's good news for those of us who like to lunch or shop at the Nashville Farmers Market, and a welcome development for the 150 merchants there.

More than 150 parking spaces are being added near the market. And they're going to be free.

The extra parking should be available soon, hopefully by May 1.

"That's the plan," said Executive Director Tasha Kennard, who has worked with her board and city and state officials since last Memorial Day to resolve the parking issue.

"We think this will make a tremendous difference and we hope that the people who have been frustrated with the traffic jams and parking will come back," she said.

If you have tried to go to the market in the past 11 months, you know that parking has been a challenge ever since construction began on the new Tennessee State Museum. There used to be more than 155 parking spots on the north side of the market

Once those slots disappeared because of the construction, traffic looking for parking regularly backs up onto Rosa L. Parks Boulevard and beyond, driving frustrated patrons away.

Just last week, my brother and I had planned to meet and enjoy our favorite chicken plate at the Chicago Gyro in the market. But as I pulled into the parking lot at 12:30 p.m. for our lunch date, there was not an empty space in sight.

As I (patiently) waited with my stomach growling and my mouth watering in anticipation of the delicious chicken and tabouli lunch, a text popped up on my phone from my (impatient) brother: "Parking hopeless. Any other place to go eat?"

And so it was that we detoured to Swett's for our lunch meetup. Swett's was great, but not being able to get into the market was frustrating.

The annoying parking scene has undoubtedly played out hundreds of times in the months since it shrunk from more than 310 spots because of the construction.

Kennard says help is on the way.

"At the end of this month, there will be parking on the other side of Bicentennial Mall for our merchants, and that will free up about 76 spaces per day in our lot," said Kennard.

In addition, she said, through an agreement with the city and state, Sixth and Seventh Avenues North will be resurfaced and redirected in the next few weeks to make Seventh Avenue a one-way street going south and Sixth Avenue one-way going north, creating 120 street parking spaces (at a 45 degree angle) where there are currently only 70 parallel parking spots.

"By redirecting the streets and moving the market merchants off the property, we should be back where we were" before the state museum construction displaced the parking, Kennard said.

The Nashville Farmers Market is set to get more than 150 additional parking spaces this year.(Photo: Rebecah Boynton)

Kennard said it has literally taken a village and almost a year to solve the parking issue, which was complicated by the fact that the market is operated by Metro government, while the land it is on is owned by the state.

“It was definitely complicated. We shared the feedback received from vendors and visitors with city and state leaders when construction began last summer and immediately started working on solutions,” said Kennard. “This project is a great example of how the city, state and community can work together. We anticipate that the roadway and parking improvements will be completed prior to May 1.”

In addition to those spaces, there will be more than 30 spaces inside the market fence, including some reserved 30-minute parking spaces for CSA (community supported agriculture) and for customer loading.

Other improvements include the trolley stop being reinstated in front of the market and plans to have the free MTA Circulator Bus drop off at the market instead of at Bicentennial Mall State Park.

Kennard said market-goers also can park in surrounding state lots on the weekend, giving them access to more than 1,000 free spaces after 5 p.m. daily and on Saturdays and Sundays.

I can't wait to tell my brother the good news and reschedule our Chicago Gyro chicken plate date at the market!

Stay cheap!

Reach Ms. Cheap at 615-259-8282 or mscheap@tennessean.com. Follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/mscheap, and at Tennessean.com/mscheap, and on Twitter @Ms_Cheap, and catch her every Thursday at 11 a.m. on WTVF-Channel 5’s “Talk of the Town.”